14 Moons
by C-130
Summary: From long winter nights to scorching summer days, there is always something going on at the Piston Peaks Air Attack Base. As the seasons change and the full moon rises, keep an eye out for a story that delves into the day to day life in the park. Egg Moon...Windlifter returns to base just in time for Cabbie to participate in an old warplane tradition.
1. Cold Moon

_**Author's Note**-As my regular readers already know, my parents were staff at Yellowstone National Park and spent my summers growing up living in Ranger housing at Old Faithful. While little facts from that time of my life have snuck in various other stories, a bunch of little snips about day to day life have gradually been filling up my slush pile. Luckily, my annual advent calendar gave me some inspiration to create you something that lasts all year long. I hope that you will enjoy it!_

* * *

**Cold Moon**

* * *

All things considered, Maru actually liked the winter months. Compared with the constant stress of the summer months, the blustery weather that occurred in the Park's mountains and valleys tended to lead to quiet days and long nights hunkered down by the fireplace. As long as Maru helped Cabbie keep the runway clear (because everyone knew that Blade was utterly worthless for the task), the mechanic had plenty of time to tinker.

By the relaxed pace of November couldn't last. Just when Piston Peak was starting to settle into a winter rhythm, the holidays arrived and everything once again went into overdrive. But unlike the summer months, during the short holiday peak, the park was severely understaffed to handle the large numbers of visitors exploring the park's winter landscape.

_"We have an overdue hiker."_ The call from the lodge caused the Piston Peak Air Attack base to spring into action. Maru got on the horn to get details while Blade hit shower for a coat of deicer and Cabbie warmed up on the runway. It took less than 30 minutes for both aircraft to be in the air and only 45 for both of them to be in position over the trailhead the hiker was believed to have used.

"I have bad news for you two." Maru interrupted, Blade and Cabbie's radio chatter. "You are looking for a white vehicle."

The mechanic was actually proud that Blade managed to keep a civil tongue in his mouth. Cabbie, on the other wing, managed to utter a string of expletives that included words from at least a half dozen languages.

_"Language."_ Blade huffed over the air attack channel once Cabbie had to pause to take a breath.

_"And you weren't thinking the exact same thing."_ Cabbie shot back, then after a short pause, a tinge of humor seeped into his voice. _"Also, really, you choose this moment to go all 'Captain America' on me."_

_"I can do this all day."_ Blade snipped back.

It didn't take long for the two aircraft to fall into a comfortable rhythm, scanning the landscape below but not having much luck locating a white car in a snowy white landscape. Eventually, the sun began to slip lower in the sky, and the lengthening shadows made the searcher's work even more difficult.

_"On your left!"_ Blade chimed once again as the two aircraft crossed paths on the search grid once again. To which Cabbie simply gave a good natured grumble.

"Dudes, you guys are embarrassing me in front of the wizards." Maru only just managed to not chuckle over the radio. "But honestly, we are running out of light. Time to come back in. We will get Cabbie fueled up and back out once it gets properly dark."

_"Wilco."_ Cabbie commented. "_I will follow the Chief's aft in and make sure he doesn't get lost in the dark."_

_" At least it is America's Aft. "_

Maru shouldn't have found Blades comment as funny as he did...but the mechanic couldn't resist.

* * *

Finding the missing vehicle proved to be easier to do in the dark of night. It only took Cabbie about an hour to spot the hiker's taillights and guide the ground team into the snowbank that the car had managed to get themselves stuck in. By the time the old plane had gotten back to base, Blade and Maru had gotten a proper dinner put together.

"It isn't too late…" Maru commented as he cleared the dishes after the meal. "Why don't we pull out a Christmas movie?"

"You are going to make me watch Die Hard again, aren't you?" Cabbie sighed tiredly.

"Maybe." Maru smiled into his coffee. Which of course meant that Maru already had the projector and 'classic' Christmas film set up in Blade's hanger, and while Cabbie grumbled for a bit he still joined the two other vehicles to participate in what was now an annual holiday tradition...and no one was surprised when Maru pulled out Ironman 3 to fill out the Christmas double feature.


	2. Wolf Moon

**Wolf Moon**

* * *

With the Christmas and New Year's well and over, the Piston Peak Air Attack base settled into its quietest period of the year. With the reduced duties, this was usually the time of year when Blade and Maru went on vacation. It was also usually the only time of year when the two vehicles weren't practically glued to each other's GPS location. Maru, after all, had a lot of family in the San Francisco area, and Blade didn't have standard tastes when it came to choosing vacation spots. As a courtesy, they would usually stagger their trips, to ensure that Cabbie wasn't completely left alone for more than a week or so.

This year the normal routine was thrown out the window because Maru convinced Blade that they really needed to go somewhere warm, so the two of them could park themselves on some beach in Mexico...probably drinking things out of a coconut. This meant that Cabbie had made his own arrangements with Jammer to make sure that a safe workspace was maintained at the Base.

Historically this had usually meant shutting the base down and having Cabbie operate out of the lodge. In fact, that is exactly how things had been done for the first decade of the Air Attack Team's existence when Cabbie was the only year-round aircraft in the park. He really didn't miss the day's when he would spend snowstorms hunkered down on the lodge tarmac because guests had taken every available spot in the hanger, and there was literally no other structure that could hold his bulky size in that area of the park. That said, Cabbie knew that Superintendent Jammer would make sure that he had a roof over his head if he chose to do something similar today...but what would be the fun of that?

The C-119 had an entire airstrip to himself and he fully intended to make the most of it. So he invited one of his C-119 buddies to visit for one week and arranged for the 'grandkids' to join him for the aircraft version of a camping trip for the other.

Lift, one of the last C-119's still in the air, arrived from Hollywood a couple of hours before Blade and Maru were going to ship out. The aircraft wore the silver, white, and international orange paint well, and he landed on the airstrip like a plane that was used to being the center of attention.

"Looks like someone got cast in something recently..." Cabbie muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Maru to hear. But he put on his best smile to greet his friend. "

"Yep, we just finished up filming about two weeks ago and I haven't gotten around to getting my paint swapped out."

"Hm…" Cabbie hummed as he gave a look that indicated his disbelief. It wasn't that difficult to get your paint redone.

"Fine." Lift gave an exasperated sigh before dissolving into a good-natured chuckle. "I just like how it feels to be in warpaint again."

"Hm, that is what I thought." Cabbie comment was sharp, but there was warmth at the edges of his voice. "And I am betting that you have taken every possible opportunity out there to be seen in it."

"You know it." Lift winked at Blade. "And I suspect your Chief has been to most of the spots that I strutted my current digs, as I suspect that Casa Vega would have been right up his alley during his heyday."

Blade stared at Lift for a few long moments, but it was clear that the C-119 was immune to the effects of the glare. Finally, the Chief admitted defeat and he glanced over at the mechanic. "Maru."

"Yes?" The tug didn't try to hide his amusement.

"You packed?"

"You know that I have been packed for the past week."

"How would you feel about having lunch at that Mexican place you like in Fresno?"

"But, Lift just got here…" Maru, added a slight whine to his voice for dramatic effect. The mechanic was clearly playing this conversation for all it was worth.

"I am paying and I am driving." Blade stated flatly and both Cabbie and Maru were smart enough to know exactly what the helicopter was getting at. Blade was trying to bribe Maru with margaritas.

Maru took a moment to leave Blade hanging, for dramatic effect, of course. Then after silence was taut with tension, the mechanic made his move. "Will there be a to-go order of nachos?"

Blade gave the mechanic an exasperated eye roll, and both Cabbie and Lift dissolved into a fit of barking laughter. Maru just looked at the surrounding aircraft with an exaggerated look of innocence.

"More time for Cabbie and I to get into trouble then." Lift tittered once the laughing had slowed to the point he could breathe.

"Don't get Cabbie too drunk." Maru winked at the big plane as he trundled off to grab his baggage. Which only encouraged Blade to follow him to make sure that the two of them got off base before the tug gave Lift any other ideas.

For all of Lift's tail pulling, he was actually a responsible guest and week sailed by in comfortable comradery. Unlike Cabbie, Lift had developed a sense of taste during his time in Hollywood. After the first night's dinner, the actor would shoo the firefighter out of his hanger's small kitchenette so that he could produce a meal that was 'edible' or he would go and grab takeout from a classy restaurant while Cabbie was on patrol. The former warplane took the situation with good humor. After all, if his friend wanted to cook, he didn't have a tire to complain. Anyway, it was kind of nice to have a break from his normal winter duties.

Sadly, while Lift was perfectly willing to spend a week shooting the breeze and sipping a little high grade with an old friend, the old plane was also perfectly content to be a bachelor. He didn't have any desire to chase after children, thank you very much. So, while Lift had helped Cabbie warm up the main hanger, he had excused himself the morning before Pickles and his brood arrived. Which left Cabbie manning the Air Attack Base alone for a couple of hours.

It was kind of nice to have the base to himself for a few moments. It was a breath of calm that he rarely experienced outside of a long solo flight. But like all good things, it was doomed to quickly come to an end. The sound props soon echoed across the winter landscape as Pickles radioed Cabbie to request permission to make a final approach into the Piston Peak Air Attack Base Airstrip.

As Pickles came in for a landing, Cabbie was reminded just how big the C-130 was. The cargo aircraft was on the upper end of what the base could safely land. Arrow, Grid, and Compass Rose followed their father in once the runway was clear. As they did, Cabbie could see how big they were getting. He suspected that once three kids were fully grown, they would be too large to land here. That was especially true for the two boys who were already taking after their mother's build.

Pickles stuck around through dinner to help get the kid settled and reminded Cabbie that he would only be a 30-minute flight away if he was needed. Then, it was just Cabbie and the kids. While the C-119 hadn't been left alone with the brood often, he knew enough about being a grandfather to understand what the expectations were. This meant that he let them stay up watching TV into the wee hours of the night...which had the dual benefits of making the young planes feel like they were having an adventure and making sure they were still asleep pass noon, which free Cabbie to complete his morning parols in peace. Yes, it meant that Cabbie was running on less sleep than he would prefer, but it was still more than he got on some fires, so he wasn't complaining.

Cabbie had, of course, also stocked up on foodstuffs before Blade and Maru had left on their trip. Growing planes ate a lot after all, and the C-119 couldn't ask the base to cover that expense, especially given the fact that he got both a paycheck and a pension. The food was nothing fancy but they were dishes that the kids knew by heart. They cooked army food, a mixer of hot dogs, canned beans, and pineapple chunks. A dish that would have been right at home in any military canteen during the Vietnam War. Then there was Budae-jjigae, a spicy stew which was a perfect blend of Korean flavors and the types of canned food that could be smuggled off a military base. From buttery cinnamon toast to roasted marshmallows for dessert, Cabbie had made sure that his guests would never be able to claim that they were hungry.

Throughout the week, the old plane did his best to make sure that his young companions had plenty to do. He had plenty of aviation maps from interesting places for them to look at and chart imaginary flight plans across. He purchased aircraft controls for the smokejumpers' gaming system and let them play the age-appropriate video games. He even got permission to allow the three planes to join him on some of the simpler patrols of the park.

It was clear that Arrow, Grid, and Compass Rose had a good time on their camping trip...but there were also still kids, and there were limits to how much 'grandpa' time they could stand. By the end of the week, they were ready for some fresh faces and so they were thrilled to hear the sound of approaching rotor beats. The three young planes were well briefed on runway safety...but that didn't stop them from swarming the Blade and Maru as soon as the helicopter's rotors had come to a complete stop.

"So, Uncle Maru, Uncle Ranger, did you bring us presents!" Grid chirped and practically bounced on his tires.

Maru winked at Cabbie before giving launching into a very dramatic tale about how he had lost 'their' chocolates at the beach, which finally ended when Blade had enough of the mechanic's long-winded rant and dumped the box of sweets out his hatch. Arrow, Grid, and Compass Rose were, of course, delighted and set upon the chocolates with a gusto that would make the viewer doubt the planes well fed all week.

Cabbie chuckled at the sight and swore to himself that he would find a way to make it up to the pair...after he had shepherded the young planes back to their parents.


	3. Snow Moon

_**Author's Note:** Sorry for posting this a day late...the power went out at my house which meant I couldn't turn on my desktop or access the internet._

* * *

**Snow Moon**

* * *

The bloody Pineapple Express had set up again, and the base was getting dumped on every three to five days. The warm moist air that fueled the storms came from the region around Hawaii, which meant the snow was significantly heavier than usual. This type of snow would create a heightened flooding risk come spring, but at the moment, it was creating an immediate logistical problem...it was a pain to keep the runway clear.

Out of the team, Cabbie seemed to be the only one to not be particularly bothered by the situation because, for some reason that Blade didn't understand, the aircraft actually liked winter. The avalanche abatement plane was continually monitoring the weather, and when the worst of the storms hit, he would wake up multiple times in the night to make sure it didn't get too deep on the tarmac. Clearing the taxi and runways usually took hours, and it was not uncommon for enough snow to have fallen in the meantime to require the C-119 to start the entire process again.

Cabbie never asked for help when these types of storms hit, but he always seemed to get it. Sometimes road crew vehicles would manage to make their way up the base's access road and then would bend their blade to keeping the tarmac clear. Sometimes it was Blade and Maru who would feel guilty watching Cabbie shoveling away at the Sisyphean-like task, and they would head out into the bitter cold to help for a couple of hours. Sadly, neither Blade nor Maru had the cold weather build to stay at the task for long, and Cabbie would soon be powering through the task alone once again.

There was an unspoken rule for days like these. That Blade and Maru would take on as many of Cabbie's base chores and tasks as possible to free the plane's time up for dealing with snow. And this included the task that Blade and Maru hated most...cooking. Because Blade was capable of burning even water, he was relegated to assembling things like sandwiches while Maru manned the cooking pot. The act of preparing a meal usually took an hour or two longer than it would under Cabbie's watchful eye, but as the storm outside howled, no one was in a hurry to get things done fast.

"Soups' up!" Maru shouted through the thickly falling snow, and when that failed to get Cabbie's attention, he paged him over the radio. Cabbie muttered some sounds in reply, but a few minutes later, Blade could start making out the shape of planes wings, making its way towards them through the blowing snow.

"There is no point in you fighting the storm right now." Blade stated between sips of coffee. "The moment you push the snow off the runway, the wind blows the whole pile back on. The wind is supposed to die down in a couple of hours, why don't you rest until then."

For a few long moment's Blade suspected that Cabbie would protest, but the old plane just closed his eyes and sagged heavily on his tires. This storm was pushing him towards his limits because he didn't even bother hiding the exhaustion from his voice. "Wake me when either the windbreaks or if the snow starts to get too deep."

With that, Cabbie drained his soup and settled himself in front of the fire. Blade suspected that the old bird was probably asleep before his tires had come to a complete stop. He left the helicopter and the tug to sit and listen to the storm pounding against the hanger.

"So, you up for a game of Uno?" Maru asked, filling the silence.

"Only if you are ready to be beaten again." Blade scoffed as he pulled out the cards.

The two of them played long into the night, knowing that it was their job to listen for the wind to finally die down. When that happened, Blade and Maru would wake Cabbie back up, and let him know that it was time to repeat the process of clearing the tarmac once again.


	4. Lenten Moon

**Lenten Moon**

* * *

The Piston Peak Air Attack Base didn't start feeling claustrophobic until the snow got too deep for the satellite dish to work. Now they were not only physically cut off from the rest of the world, but they were also electronically cut off from the rest of the world. The three vehicles trapped in snowbound limbo did their best to make the most of it. They went down to the lodge to access the internet on clear afternoons and watched films from Cabbie's surprisingly large collection of bootlegged foreign films in the evenings...but a mind-numbing boredom always set in at this time of year and no matter how many times they winters he had gone through it, Maru was never really prepared to face it.

Chief Ranger used sleep to cope with the endless hours of being cooped up. Like many helicopters, Blade seemed to practically go into hibernation during the depths of winter. He slept for hours on end, and could only be coaxed into work using multiple mugs of coffee and warm antifreeze shower.

Cabbie, on the other tine, seemed to come alive in the depths of the winter chill, which made a lot of sense to the mechanic. C-119's had been one of the few aircraft capable of exploring the frozen wastelands of the south pole and had been among the first to do so from the air. Compared with that capability, the Park's chill, even on a bad day, was neglectable. Add the comfortable rhythm of a day in, day out routine that included plenty of time for the plane to engage in his hobbies and catch up with buddies on the radio, and Maru was pretty sure that winter was pretty close to paradise for the old bird.

For Maru though...this situation was rapidly approaching the slag of Hell. While the little mechanic had experienced a lot of worse situations..._ think any member of their team going down _...he also had the power to act in those situations. His actions might not be successful, but he could do something, anything, to try to change the tide of disaster. Right now, Maru was stuck not only obeying the whims of the weather, but also the whims of his companions and tug suspected that the reason he felt so trapped was that he didn't have wings. The two aircraft on the base could theoretically leave any time they pleased, and they could also theoretically choose to leave him behind to stew in the silence of the base...and apparently, he was getting that 'crazy' look in his eye, because Cabbie was giving him a concerned look over breakfast.

"I think we need to get you out of the park for a day." Cabbie informed Maru between bites of slightly burnt pancakes. "Blade is overdue for a visit to Dodge Ridge and I think you should go with him."

Maru glanced over at Blade and wondered if he really wanted to fly in him. He knew that the Chief would perk up a bit once he had drunk the other half of the coffee pot, but he was still looking pretty lethargic. The mechanic almost opened his mouth to protest, but the helicopter didn't give him a chance.

"We have a clear patch in the weather, then?" Blade muttered between yawns.

Cabbie gave a bob on his tires. "The National Weather Service is expecting at least three storm-free days and it looks like the density altitude for all of them are going to be excellent. Looks like you could even get away with spending the night off base if Susanna wanted to keep you for dinner."

Maru couldn't help but make a snort of laughter at that particular comment. Everyone on base knew that owners of the Dodge Ridge ski resort would try to convince Blade and Maru to join them for a nice lunch. Maru also knew that if they accepted, Susanna and Duggy would make sure to pull out a few choice vintages from their Napa Valley collection for the group to enjoy. Which meant that by the end of the dinner, Blade would be incapable of getting safely home...even if he had any night flying skills, which of course, the helicopter didn't. The actual meaning of Cabbie's statement was clear, he was letting the two vehicles know that they were welcome to have a night off. The old plane would hold down the fort while they were gone.

It took about another hour and a half before the sun started to heat the winter air and Blade was finally awake to make the flight safely. Then the only thing left was for Maru to strap in and let himself be carried north across the snowy landscape. As Blade came in for the final approach, it was clear that the ski resort was fairly busy for a Tuesday. Grinning at the scene in front of them, it was clear to Maru that he and Blade were not the only vehicles that were playing hooky from work. Apparently, the good weather, proximity to San Francisco, and laid back atmosphere of the resort had been too tempting to resist.

Duggy and Susanna were waiting just outside of the lodge's helipad to greet the two Air Attack members and they barely waited for Blade's rotors to stop spinning before rolling up to them.

While the two cars hadn't been the founders of Dodge Ridge, they had purchased it in the '70s and took pride in having a family-run establishment that provided a safe skiing experience. Their ski resort would never be as fancy as Tahoe, but it didn't have to be. What they lacked in glitz they more than made up in warmth.

"I hope that you two are hungry." Duggy drawled as he practically pressed his side against his wife. "Because Susanna has been working on a recipe from one of her new mail order cookbooks, and it made a meal big enough for a midsized commuter jet."

"Oh, Duggy." Susanna's bell-like chuckle range out in the winter's air. "You just noticed that I put Brussel sprouts in it, and you are hoping to dump them on an unexpected guest."

"You caught me." Duggy shrugged his tires and looked at tad bit sheepish; then he motioned for their two guests to follow him. "We better hurry, we wouldn't want the food to get cold."

As expected, lunch was a sumptuous affair for which Susanna had clearly spent the morning preparing. Once neither Maru or Blade could manage another bite, the whole group headed out into the lodge's lobby so that they could all gab while staring out the large plate glass windows at the ski slope. Duggy and Susanna took delight in filling their two friends in on the winter's news. When Susanna had to duck out of the conversation to teach a children's intro to skiing class, Duggy easily pivoted the conversation to more casual topics.

Soaking up the warmth, Maru knew that he was going to have to bring Cabbie home a treat to thank him for arranging this restbet from the normal drudgeries of winter...but that was something to think about later. For now, the mechanic was enjoying being surrounded by the constant hum of activity, sitting in front of the roaring fire with a mug of hot cocoa, and watching Blade argue with Duggy about current Hollywood politics.

The day was flowing past like the water in a stream, and by midafternoon Maru found himself too relaxed to keep his eyes open. As he drifted off to sleep, the mechanic had to admit that today had truly been a wisp of fresh air breathing life into the dark depths of winter. Because for the first time in weeks, the thought of returning to base didn't make him feel trapped anymore.


	5. Egg Moon

**Egg Moon**

* * *

The universities were off for spring break, which meant that the Piston Peak Air Attack Base had an extra resident...Windlifter. The timing for this was perfect as the Skycrane arrived just as the snow was starting to let go of the park. This meant that the helicopter could be put to work helping to move the logs and debris that had been knocked loose by avalanches and winter landslides. Once that was completed, Skycrane would also help the other departments make badly needed improvements to the park. While most of Windlifter's efforts were focused on infrastructure projects, his presence freed up enough of Cabbie's time so that the old plane could participate in a long-held tradition…the Easter Candy Drop.

The history of candy drops went back to Cold War and the Berlin Airlift. While American skytrains had worked tirelessly to bring in desperately needed food and fuel into the starving city, one plane in particular noticed that the city's children needed more than just the basics. They also needed a little bit of joy and hope. Colonel Hal soon became known as Uncle Wiggly Wings to the city's children, because he would wiggle his wings to let the kids on the ground know that he was about drop candy bars with little parachutes from his plane. By the time the blockade was ended, the Berlin Candy Bomber had dropped over 23 tons of candy as part of Operations Little Vittles.

The aircraft of the US Air Force had never forgotten the effect that bringing candy to children of Berlin had had, and many warplanes had tried their best to airdrop a little bit of joy from the skies. Cabbie did his part every Easter by preforming two candy drops, for the children of the local national guard unit and the other for the enjoyment of Piston Peaks National Park employee's families. Preparing for these two drops had taken place during the quiet moments of the winter. Cabbie and Blade would occasionally go on supply runs while Maru and some of the lodge staff systematically attached parachutes to the eggs, candy bars, and small toys. Now that Easter had finally arrived it was now Windlifter's job to carry the crates of precious cargo to the air attack base as Cabbie and Maru prepared for their run.

The mechanic was already strapped in and the first drops load was already placed inside Cabbie's hold by the time Windlifter finished with his last load. Which meant the only thing left for the helicopter to do was sit with Blade on the tarmac and wish the cargo plane good luck. The pleasantries took less than a minute and Cabbie closed his hatch and rolled out.

"Let's go make it rain." Cabbie chuckled before he kicked his engines into gear and let his props pull him into the sky. Blanking left he disappeared into the clouds to bring joy to children in the neighboring town.

"Well…" Blade drawled. "Now that has been taken care of, I think it may be our civil duty to test a couple of the chocolate eggs to ensure their quality."

Windlifter looked levelly at his Chief for a moment, then bobbed his approval. "Only if I get to test the Peanut Butter Eggs."

"You drive a hard bargain." Blade grinned back at his lieutenant, as he rolled towards the main hanger. "But it is a deal, as long as you don't mention the half Cadbury Cream Eggs I am going to sneak to Maru."

"That would be acceptable." A slight smile graced the Skycrane's lips as he followed his boss to enjoy some of the fruits of their labor.


End file.
